The fan-favorite Marvel Ultimate Alliance franchise first hit consoles in 2006, with the sequel following quickly in 2009. 10 long years later and the third game is finally here, though things have changed for the franchise.

RELATED: Activision Snaps Fingers, Erases Marvel Ultimate Alliance Games From Steam

While we were hoping to hear more about the recently announced Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order at this year's E3, it was shadowed a bit by the first look at Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' Avengers. Both games released new trailers, which revealed a lot about each upcoming Marvel release. Today we are going to explore a few of the awesome things we already know about Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order.

10 RELEASE DATE

When Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order was first announced at the 2018 Game Awards, the trailer only revealed that the game would be released in 2019. Thankfully we soon learned that that actual release date would be July 19, 2019. While it's awesome that the date is so close, there is a potential issue.

MUA3: TBO will hit stores the same weekend of the San Diego Comic-Con International, which is arguably the biggest comic and entertainment convention in the world. Con-goers would likely be chock full of gamers waiting to play the new game, yet SDCC could still very much take precedence and lower the game's opening weekend.

9 NINTENDO SWITCH EXCLUSIVE

The previous games in the franchise all released across a number of platforms, and even different generations of the same consoles. Everyone could play the first two Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games, which definitely helped build the fanbase that is currently going nuts for the new game.

RELATED: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Is Going To Be A Nintendo Switch Exclusive

However, unlike the first games, MUA3: TBO will be a Nintendo Switch Exclusive, which will either alienate a number of fans or drive Switch sales up as fans purchase to play their favorite franchise. Thankfully, developers Team Ninja have been able to focus on the unique gameplay of the Switch without worrying about appeasing all consoles.

8 MULTIPLAYER

Much like the previous games in the series, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order will feature co-operative gameplay options. While the first two games featured both local and online multiplayer, the Nintendo Switch provides a bit of a different way to play with friends, giving the revolutionary mobility of Nintendo's latest console.

While an online pass would be required for online gaming as with any Switch game, MUA3: TBO will still allow players to play locally with up to four players on the same screen. However, if each player has their own Switch and copy of the game, they can play on their respective consoles while taking advantage of another new feature...

7 HEROIC CAMERA

Every incarnation of the game so far has featured a top-down/behind-the-team point of view, which was seen in a number of other games, but most relevantly with the hit X-Men: Legends games. The team-based style of the game basically pre-determined the camera angles you would see in the game, but Team Ninja is switching it up.

RELATED: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Lets You Form Your Own Avengers

Nintendo's Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order will feature for the first time the "Heroic Camera," which will give players who are playing single player or in co-op on separate consoles a close-up POV. This new camera angle gives the player a zoomed-in perspective on the action that should help keep things from getting too visually hectic.

6 ALL THE HEROES REVEALED SO FAR

The rosters of the Ultimate Alliance games has always been one of the main selling points of the franchise, as the game is designed to bring together all of the heroes (and sometimes villains) of the Marvel Universe. The released characters in the new game feature the usual mix of Avengers and X-Men, with a few new interesting additions we'll list below.

The MUA3 roster so far includes Ant-Man, Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Crystal, Daredevil, Deadpool, Doctor Strange, Drax, Elektra, Elsa Bloodstone, Falcon, Gamora, Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Fist, Iron Man, Miles Morales, Ms. Marvel, Nick Fury, Nightcrawler, Peter Parker, Psylocke, Rocket & Groot, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Gwen, Star-Lord, Storm, Thor, Vision, Wasp, and Wolverine.

5 ALL THE VILLAINS REVEALED SO FAR

The villainous side of the Marvel Universe is just as largely explored by the Ultimate Alliance franchise, though most of the included villains are largely unplayable. While Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order stars Thanos and his Black Order as the main villains, there are even more villains that we've seen appear in the trailers.

RELATED: Action Highlights New Gameplay Footage Of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3

The villains are pulled equally from the Avengers, with characters like Klaw, M.O.D.O.K., Ultimo, Red Skull, Hela & Destroyer, Surtur, and Ultron, joining up with Spidey foes like Green Goblin, Kingpin, Venom, Electro, Sandman, and Doctor Octopus. We know X-Men villains like Magneto and the Sentinels will appear, while cosmic threats like Nebula and Ronan the Accuser will also feature in the storyline.

4 COMIC ACCURATE THANOS & THE BLACK ORDER

Thanos and his Black Order will obviously play a large role in the game as they feature in the title. Fans recently saw the same villains threaten the world on the big screen in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. However, the MUA3: TBO versions are definitely more comic accurate than their cinematic counterparts.

Obviously, Thanos stands apart from the cinematic version due to his comic accurate costume, which was never fully realized on the big screen. As for the Black Order, the lineup of Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Obsidian Maw, and Black Dwarf (Cul Obsidian in the film) will be joined again by Supergiant, who was cut from the films.

3 MAGNETO GETS AN INFINITY STONE

Magneto Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3

The latest trailer for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order dropped at this year's E3, and offered our first looks at a few new characters (more on them soon) as well as tease some of the dangerous new wielders of the Infinity Stones. Magneto, who will be a playable character, is seen with the Power Stone (probably).

RELATED: Magneto Will Take On Thanos As A Playable Character In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

While Magneto appears to be working with the Alliance this time, the first trailers also revealed that villains Green Goblin and Ultron each wield what appears to be the Time and Mind Stones, respectively. Of course, the trailers also show Thanos in possession of the completed Infinity Gauntlet, so expect the villains time with the Stones to be short-lived.

2 DLC EXPANSION PASS

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order didn't have too much to reveal at E3 when compared to some of the other games presented at the annual event. However, along with the new trailer we previously discussed, plans for the Expansion Pass were unveiled that would introduce new characters and content following the launch of the game.

The Expansion Pass will include 3 DLC packs that will feature content from the Fantastic Four, Marvel Knights, and X-Men franchises. We don't have official confirmation of which characters, or what the extra content entails beyond characters, but it's nice to see the whole Marvel family working under the same roof again.

1 POSSIBLE SMASH BROS. CROSSOVER?

While there have been no official announcements made on bringing any Marvel characters to the hit Nintendo brawler Super Smash Bros.Marvel Games vice president and creative director Bill Rosemann recently revealed they would be open to the idea if Nintendo was up for it, which has ignited the rumor mills.

RELATED: Marvel Is Interested In A Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Crossover, But It’s Up To Nintendo

Given that Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is a Nintendo Switch Exclusive, a good working relationship between Marvel and Nintendo is implied. The Super Smash Bros. franchise famously uses non-Nintendo characters in their fan-favorite brawler, the idea of seeing some of MUA3: TBO's roster appear in DLC for SSB would bring together fandoms in a bold new way, perfectly fitting for the theme of Super Smash Bros.

NEXT: Marvel: Everything We Know About The Avengers Video Game From E3 2019